Portal:Corporate Rights/Featured Campaigns

Draft Executive Order Would Promote Election Sunshine

The White House is circulating a draft Executive Order requiring disclosure of contributions to "third party" or "independent" expenditure groups by corporations receiving government contracts (which would include big spenders like Koch Industries, JPMorgan Chase, Exxon Mobil, General Electric, and Bank of America). During the 2010 midterm elections, much of the unlimited election spending made possible by the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision was kept secret by groups taking advantage of the 501(c) section of the tax code. The President's proposed order would lift the veil on secret spending in time for the 2012 elections. Read more about the draft order here.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes the draft Executive Order's transparency measures (read Public Citizen's David Arkush's take here). Two Republican-led House Committees are looking into the Order, and according to Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, on May 12 held a "hearing stacked with witnesses representing defense and aerospace contractors who oppose additional disclosure."

The Center for Media and Democracy and many other public interest groups are asking Americans to contact President Obama and ask him to sign the Executive Order. Click here to take action!

CMD Participates in Citizens United 1st Anniversary Events

January 21, 2011 marked the first anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. To mark the event, the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD), Public Citizen, People for the American Way, MovetoAmend.org (MTA), and FreeSpeechforPeople.org (FSfP) delivered over 750,000 signatures calling on Congress to amend the Constitution and reverse this terrible decision. The Center also worked with the Coffee Party and the Backbone Campaign to organize a legal summit in DC to address the decision and its implications for numerous issues affecting Americans' lives and the American Dream. CMD's Executive Director, Lisa Graves, was asked to speak to these issues along with People for the American Way, Public Citizen, and Common Cause, and moderated a panel presenting amendment strategies by MovetoAmend and FSfP and others, and also participated in a panel on how to find common ground on these issues across the political divide. The events were broadcast on C-SPAN. The Center emphasized the need for a constitutional amendment, and that legislation like the DISCLOSE Act alone was not enough: "Disclosure is important, but is no substitute for the reforms we need. The problem is not just lack of disclosure but the corrupting influence by corporations on elections.". CMD is a co-founder of MTA's grassroots efforts, which is over 100,000 voices strong, and also works in network with People For, Public Citizen, Common Cause, FSfP, and other national groups to try to help improve coordination among these efforts.

How else can you get involved?

Organize locally! View resources on how to get more involved here, here, and here.

'Join the movement!' Join the Center for Media and Democracy and over 100,000 other Americans by joining the grassroots movements CMD is strongly supporting, Move to Amend and Movement for the People. If you are interested in focusing on amending the constitutional and statutory rules on campaign finance you can also join us in supporting Free Speech for People. For local activities, check out the Move to Amend events page and calendar, or search for events on the Movement for the People website.

'Sign the Petition!' Let the Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) know that you agree the law should put "Americans Before Corporations" by clicking here if you agree that:
 * It's wrong to give corporations the same rights as people, especially when it comes to our elections.
 * A corporation isn't really a person.
 * Corporations are created by statute to help maximize profit and limit legal liability.
 * Corporations can't go to jail when they hurt or kill someone; they're different from real people.
 * And they just aren't entitled to all the same rights that are constitutionally guaranteed to human beings.
 * Plus, corporations have so much more money than most ordinary citizens that their influence drowns out the voices of we the people in our democracy.